Overview:

Professional Summary:

I am a UB faculty member and one of the few advanced endoscopists in the Buffalo-Niagara region. I serve as the chief of endoscopy and director of advanced endoscopic services at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. My clinical interests are in the field of endoscopic oncology, and the medical conditions I treat include cancers and polyps of the gastrointestinal tract, Barrett’s esophagus, bile duct strictures and pancreatic cysts. I perform endoscopic procedures that diagnose, stage, treat and palliate malignant and pre-malignant conditions of the gastrointestinal tract such as endoscopic ultrasound, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, cholangioscopy, endoscopic mucosal resection, enteral stenting, ablation of Barrett’s esophagus and double-balloon enteroscopy. I am widely regarded throughout the Western New York physician community for my excellence in patient care, especially as it relates to advanced endoscopic procedures.

I teach and train gastroenterology fellows and supervise fellows and residents in clinical research. My research interests include the optimal management of submucosal masses of the gastrointestinal tract and the effectiveness of enteral stents for malignant bowel obstruction. I am also interested in health services research as it relates to providing patients with advanced endoscopic procedures, and I am investigating the effect of an interventional endoscopist on surgical volumes. My team is also analyzing the effectiveness of combined endoscopic ultrasound with fine needle aspiration and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) vs. ERCP alone as an initial step in diagnosing patients with pancreatic cancer and symptoms related to the biliary tract. I have also contributed instructional videos on gastric hyperplastic polyps and pancreatic lymphoepithelial cysts to the Digital Atlas of Video Education (the DAVE Project) so that professionals in the field have access to information on optimally managing these disorders.

One of my roles is to help develop the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC) as a destination for patients needing complex, high-end endoscopic procedures not currently offered in this region. Toward that goal, I seek to expand training opportunities for fellows in advanced endoscopic procedures at the BNMC.

Education and Training:

Fellowship, Advanced Endoscopy, University of California (2011)

Fellowship, Gastroenterology, University of California (2010)

Residency, Internal Medicine, Emory University (2007)

MD, Medicine, Georgetown University School of Medicine, cum laude (2004)